How To Clean Parasites From Carpet | 5 steps and goodbye!

Worms and other parasites are a nightmare for pet owners as well as carpet owners. 

Unfortunately, they don’t just affect your furbabies. They can also easily make their way into bedding, upholstery, and carpets. So, how to clean parasites from carpet?

If your purry pals and darling dogs get parasites on your carpets, don’t panic. You can get rid of them with just a few easy steps. 

You’ll need to carefully vacuum and steam clean your carpets. The high temperatures produced by steam cleaners create an unliveable environment for these pesky parasites. 

How To Clean Parasites From Carpet

Are you tired of dealing with pesky parasites in your carpet? Whether it’s fleas, dust mites, or other unwelcome guests, a clean and parasite-free carpet is essential for a healthy and comfortable home.

Step One: Remove Furniture

The first step for getting rid of parasites, regardless of the type, is to remove all the furniture from the room. You’ll also need to get rid of everything that’s on the carpet. Anything bigger than a pencil eraser should not be in the room. 

If your home is full of furniture, take things one room at a time. This lets you move furniture between rooms rather than having to lug it all outside or place it in storage. It also gives you enough space to get in and deep clean the entire home. 

Note: any pet bedding and other items should either be washed in hot water in your washing machine or throw away. Make some judgment calls about what your pet can live without and which items are worth salvaging.

Step Two: Vacuum

Once everything is out of the room it’s time to vacuum. Make sure to vacuum every part of the carpet. 

Now, it’s important not to get confused here. Vacuuming does not actually kill or remove parasites from your carpet. The only reason you vacuum is because you’ll steam clean your carpets in the next step. 

You need to vacuum before steam cleaning to remove any dirt that’s on the carpet. That way, you’ll be able to penetrate the carpet’s fibres and conduct a deep clean of the room. 

Vacuuming your carpet should also pull any worms out of the carpet’s fibres that are living there. That makes this an extra important step. 

Step Three: Treat Your Carpets

The third step is actually optional. However, we don’t recommend skipping it if you don’t want another infestation!

For this step, you can spray an insecticide or parasite treatment on your carpet to help kill the creepy crawlies. There are a couple of good insecticides you can use, including: 

• Roundworms: Ivermectin is a great choice for pet owners who are dealing with roundworm infestations
• Hookworms: boric acid and Wondercide can help kill hookworms
• Tapeworms: Praziquental works great for tapeworms and can also help get rid of roundworms

To do so, hold the spray about one arms-length away from the carpet. Then, spray the carpet until it is damp. 

Make sure to spray the entire carpeted area. If you miss a patch you run the risk of letting parasites live and then spread outward into the rest of the room, reinfecting the home. 

Step Four: Steam Clean

Step four is the most important part of the process as the heat treatment is what will ultimately kill the parasites in your carpet. 

To get started, plug your steam cleaner in and add hot water and cleaning solution according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 

Next, run the steam cleaner over the carpet’s entire surface. Start in the far corner of the room, staying diagonal to the entrance. 

Slowly push or pull the steam cleaner (depending on the machinery’s directions) to make parallel lines across the carpet. 

Be sure to cover every area of the carpet. Missing spots could allow parasites to stick around in your flooring. It’s also a good idea to make two passes over every piece of carpet just to be extra safe. 

Pro Tip: Take extra care to clean areas where your pet likes to hang out. These are the areas where the parasites are most likely to be lurking.

Step Five: Steam Clean ‘risky’ furniture

Before returning your furniture, it is important to make sure they are free of parasites themselves! That is particularly important for mattresses, couches and bedding! 

For your bedding, throwing them in the washing machine and running a hot wash with your laundry detergent should suffice. 

For furniture where these creep-crawlies can hide, simply steam clean your couch and mattress before returning them into place. The heat should take care of this issue. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Clean My House After Hookworms?

If you’ve had about of hookworms in the house you need to thoroughly clean every part of the home. Vacuum and steam clean the floors; for hardwood areas use an all-purpose cleaner to clean the floors. 

In addition, you should scrub and launder all bedding and litter boxes in the home. Any animals should be dewormed at the same time. This ensures that all the animals are fully treated and cannot reinfect one another. 

How Long Do Hookworms Live on Carpet?

If you think that you can deworm your pets and call it a day, think again. Hookworms can live between three months and a year when on carpet. On soil, they can live even longer, making it critical for you to thoroughly clean your carpets and lawns after your pets have hookworms. 

What Cleaner Kills Hookworms?

Bleach kills hookworm larvae, making it the perfect outdoor cleaning solution to clear off driveways, paths, and pavement. Indoors, however, it’s best to use simple hot water and a steam cleaner to get rid of the parasites. 

You can use diluted bleach solutions on your carpet, although these may not work as well as heat treatments. The best bet is to follow the above procedure to get rid of hookworms in your home.